


The Mini-Break of Doom

by cosmic_llin



Series: The Sarah Jane And Chrissie Mysteries [3]
Category: Sarah Jane Adventures
Genre: Ass-Kicking, Drunkenness, Female Friendship, Gen, Holiday, Jealousy, Mystery, Rivalry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-11-28
Updated: 2008-11-28
Packaged: 2017-10-07 22:42:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/70001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmic_llin/pseuds/cosmic_llin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sarah Jsne and Chrissie go on a weekend break in Kent! With aliens!</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Mini-Break of Doom

They heard the sound of the front door opening, and heels clattering in the hall.

'Coo-ee, only me!' came Chrissie's voice. 'I was just passing and...' She entered the living room and stopped short. She surveyed the scene - teapot on the table, posh biscuits arranged on a fancy plate, Sarah Jane and a complete stranger sitting on the sofa.

'Oh... hello,' Chrissie said, lamely.

Sarah looked guilty. 'Chrissie, this is Gita, Rani's mother,' she said. 'Gita, this is my friend Chrissie.'

'So nice to meet you, Chrissie!' Gita said, with a bit too much enthusiasm, Chrissie thought. 'Why don't you sit down? Sarah was just telling me a really funny story!'

'Yes, _Sarah Jane_ has lots of interesting stories,' Chrissie said pointedly. Gita appeared not to notice.

'Um... do you want a cup of tea, Chrissie?' Sarah asked.

'Go on, then,' Chrissie said.

'I'll just fetch another cup from the kitchen, shall I?' Sarah said, getting up and hurrying away.

There was silence for a few moments.

'So...' Chrissie said. '...been anywhere nice on holiday lately?'

'Oh, we usually go over Easter, but we didn't this year because of the house move and everything,' Gita said. 'We thought, you know, get settled here before we go gallivanting off again! We've booked our summer holidays though, we're going to this lovely little villa in France, Haresh's friend lets it out, but he's letting us have it for free, so we only need to pay for the ferry and things.'

'That's nice,' said Chrissie.

'Funny things, holidays, though, aren't they?' Gita continued, as Sarah came back in with a cup, and sat down to pour Chrissie some tea. 'My sister's friend Emma just came back from a mini-break, and she doesn't remember any of it! Now, isn't that weird?'

'She drank too much, I suppose?' Sarah asked.

'No, no, that's just it!' said Gita. 'She's not that sort at all! She just set off on holiday, and the next thing she knew, she was on her way back!'

Satisfied with the impression this announcement had created, Gita leaned down to get a biscuit. Over her head, Chrissie and Sarah looked at each other.

'Aliens!' Chrissie mouthed, delighted.

Sarah raised her eyebrows.

'Where exactly was it she went, Gita?' she asked, in casual tones.

'Oh, some country hotel in Kent,' Gita said.

'Yes, but what was it called?' Chrissie persisted.

Gita frowned. 'Something House... I don't remember... some sort of flower, it was named after.'

Chrissie made an impatient noise.

'Oh! Campion House!' Gita said. 'I remember because she came to the shop and told me about it, and I was actually making a bouquet with a few campions in it at the time, it was quite funny, really...'

'Sounds hilarious,' said Chrissie, tonelessly.

Sarah struggled to cover a snort. Gita frowned.

They struggled for a few more minutes to make polite conversation. Chrissie frostily replied only to direct questions from Gita, and soon Gita, offended, was doing the same thing. Sarah tried valiantly to include them equally in the conversation, and elbowed Chrissie and glared at her when Gita's back was turned. It didn't help, though, and soon Gita made her excuses.

'I'll see myself out,' she said. 'Thanks for the tea, Sarah. See you soon!'

Sarah waved her off, already thinking about something else.

'It _must_ be aliens!' Chrissie said, the moment they heard the door close behind Gita. 'We're going, aren't we?'

'I don't know, Chrissie,' said Sarah. 'It's out of town, we'd probably have to stay over, maybe for a whole weekend...'

'Well, what's so wrong with that?' Chrissie asked. 'I could certainly do with a holiday!'

'What about Luke?'

'What about him? He can stay at Clyde's for a couple of days, can't he? The amount of meals that boy eats over here, it must be his mother's turn to feed Luke for a change.'

'It's just... I've never left him alone for a whole weekend before,' Sarah said.

'Well, you'd have to do it sooner or later,' said Chrissie. 'Best get it over with. So that's settled then, we'll go this weekend! Don't worry, I'll arrange everything. You can drive us down, can't you? Come and pick me up on Friday afternoon, about three!'

'Well, I...' Sarah began.

'I've got to get going now, Ivan's got the afternoon off work, so he's taking me ice skating!' Chrissie said. 'Thanks for the tea, see you on Friday! Mwah!'

And she was gone. Sarah stared after her, a little dazed.

* * *

On Friday afternoon, at three o' clock sharp, Sarah pulled up outside Chrissie's house and beeped the horn. She was half convinced that Chrissie would have forgotten the whole thing, but no, there she was, with her leopard-print suitcase, and a matching holdall and rucksack.

'How long do you think we're going for?' Sarah asked, looking over her shoulder as Chrissie piled her things into the boot on top of Sarah's little overnight bag.

'It's best to be prepared,' Chrissie said primly.

'And are we?' Sarah asked. 'I'm not even sure where we're going!'

'Oh, it's all sorted, no problem,' said Chrissie. 'I've booked a room, I've printed out a map, I've got the postcode for the Sat Nav...'

'Wait... you've booked _a_ room?' Sarah asked. 'Just the one?'

'Yes,' Chrissie said. 'I just... thought it would be cheaper. More convenient.'

'Right,' said Sarah, frowning.

'It's not because I'm scared of the aliens, if that's what you think!' said Chrissie. 'I could have had a room by myself. I just thought this way might be better.'

'Of course,' said Sarah. 'I understand completely.'

'Good,' said Chrissie, getting in and closing the door. 'Let's roll.'

'Let's roll?' Sarah asked, dubiously.

'Just drive, will you?'

* * *

The journey seemed rather long to Sarah, but perhaps that was because she didn't actually like Girls Aloud. It didn't seem entirely fair that she was having to drive and Chrissie still got to choose the CD, and she wasn't sure exactly how it had happened. Chrissie bounced and sang along the whole way, and Sarah wondered, for the umpteenth time, how it had happened that they spent so much time together.

Eventually, though, they pulled up in front of a beautiful country house, found their allotted parking space, and made their way up the grand front steps to the reception desk in the foyer.

'Hello, we booked a twin room?' Chrissie said, smiling at the woman at the desk.

'What name was it?' the woman asked.

'Calamity Jane and Katie Brown,' Chrissie answered. Sarah rolled her eyes.

'The thing about a good alias,' she said to Chrissie, after they had been given their keys and were walking up the stairs to their room, 'is that it shouldn't _look_ like an alias. Now they'll think we're up to something!'

'Lots of people travel incognito, for all sorts of perfectly innocent reasons!' Chrissie said. 'And besides, if it's a _really_ obvious alias, then it looks like we don't care if they know, so it seems like we haven't got anything to hide. Some of your other pseudonyms, though... I mean, Bunty Mansfield? Really?'

Sarah huffed and said nothing.

* * *

Chrissie watched the bellboy leaning over to put their bags neatly on the floor, and winked lasciviously at Sarah.

'There you go,' she said, handing him a generous tip, and watching him go for perhaps slightly longer than was necessary. When he disappeared from view, though, she locked the door behind him and turned to Sarah, who was looking disapproving.

'If you've quite finished?' she said.

'Oh, come on, he was gorgeous!' said Chrissie. 'Hadn't you better scan for aliens?'

'Give me a minute!' Sarah protested.

'And I want the bed furthest from the door,' Chrissie added.

'Oh, what?' Sarah rolled her eyes. 'So that when the aliens burst in, they eat me first?'

'No!' said Chrissie, blushing.

'They might come in through the window, anyway, and that's closer to the other bed,' Sarah said cruelly.

'Would you stop trying to scare me and just get that watch thing of yours out, please?' Chrissie snapped.

She fell to unpacking her bags, as Sarah began her scan.

'It's aliens,' she said, after a moment. 'The watch is having trouble identifying the species, though.'

'Well then, how are we supposed to find out what it is?' Chrissie asked over her shoulder, rummaging through the leaflets and menus on the bedside tables.

'We investigate,' said Sarah.

'But,' said Chrissie, 'shouldn't we also do our best to make it look like we're just having a normal weekend break?'

'Well, probably,' said Sarah. 'Why, did you have an idea?'

Chrissie held up a flyer - _Why not take advantage of our exclusive spa treatments?_ - it suggested.

'Can we?' Chrissie asked.

'It's as good a place to start as any, I suppose,' Sarah said.

* * *

And that was how, a little later, the two of them came to be covered in gunk in a room full of steam.

'Do people really find this relaxing?' Sarah asked incredulously.

Chrissie didn't answer - her eyes were closed and she was leaning back against the wall, smiling beautifically.

'I mean, it's just _mud_,' Sarah continued.

'Ssssh,' said Chrissie, without opening her eyes. 'Just relax.'

Sarah sighed.

Just then, the door opened, and through the steam two figures became visible.

'Hello?' came a voice. 'Anyone in here?'

'Yes!' called Chrissie. 'I'm Chrissie and this is Sarah Jane.'

The figures moved closer, and became two middle-aged women covered, like Sarah and Chrissie, in mud.

'I'm Audrey,' said the first one, 'and this is Lou.'

'What do you think of it here?' Audrey asked.

'We love it,' said Lou. 'We come up for a few days once a month while our husbands are off golfing together.'

'Ooh, we're having a lovely time!' said Chrissie. 'Aren't we, Sarah Jane?'

'Yes, marvellous,' said Sarah.

Chrissie glanced at her. She was still looking grumpy.

'So...' Chrissie said, since it appeared that Sarah wasn't about to ask any probing questions. 'You must know all the gossip, if you're here that often. Come on, dish the dirt.' She smiled engagingly at them.

Audrey leaned forward. 'Ooh,' she said gleefully, 'there was all that fuss recently, remember, Lou? When it came under new management?'

'Ooh, yes,' Lou agreed. 'But it was all a bit of a storm in a teacup. The new manager hasn't changed anything. You'd hardly even know he was here. Just lets everyone get on with it, and stays in the basement most of the time.'

'The basement?' asked Chrissie.

'Yes,' Audrey said. 'He won't use the old manager's office behind the reception desk. And nobody's allowed in the basement now, Sally says.'

'Sally does the rooms,' Lou interjected.

'Yes, and she says that they hardly ever see this new fellow, and he doesn't ever tell them what to do, just leaves them to it. Probably best, she says. They know their jobs, they don't need any new manager sticking his nose in.'

  
'What's in the basement?' asked Chrissie.

  
'Sally doesn't know,' said Lou. 'Since he moved down there, he had new locks fitted - she doesn't even go in to clean! And he sleeps down there and everything, doesn't go to any other parts of the house.'

  
'What happened to the old manager?' Sarah asked, perking up a bit.

  
Audrey and Lou looked at one another, and frowned.

  
'You know, nobody's quite sure,' said Lou. 'It was all a bit sudden, the staff were all taken by surprise. One day they came in and there was just... a new manager. And that was it, really.'

  
'How mysterious!' said Chrissie, elbowing Sarah in the ribs.

  
'Yes, it is a bit,' said Sarah. 'Chrissie... are we finished yet?'

Chrissie sighed. 'Come on then, lets go and get cleaned up. It was nice to meet you, ladies.'

  
'Have a lovely weekend!' called Audrey.

  
'Yes, we're off home again in the morning,' added Lou. 'So goodbye, if we don't see you!'

  
They waved vigorously as Sarah and Chrissie disappeared through the steam.

* * *

Sarah cheered up considerably after a long shower, and Chrissie didn't have to try very hard to persuade her to leave the investigating for a bit and have a nice meal in the restaurant, followed by several nice drinks at the bar. Chrissie was teaching Sarah about cocktails.

  
'We can't drink too much,' Sarah whispered, as her fourth drink arrived. It had an umbrella in it. 'We should go down to that basement tonight, see what that new manager's up to. We need to keep level heads.'

  
Chrissie shook her head. 'He sleeps down there, remember? We'd bump into him.'

  
'Yes, but he spends all his time down there in the day, too,' Sarah pointed out. 'We've got to have a look sometime, or we'll never work out what he's up to.'

  
'Awww... but do we really have to go tonight?' Chrissie asked. 'It'll be dark, and scary, and we're already a bit drunk.'

  
'I'm not!' Sarah protested.

  
'Oh, come on, you know you are,' Chrissie said. 'Do you want to chance it? Won't it be better tomorrow? Isn't it nicer to spend our evening relaxing?'

  
'Well...' Sarah began.

  
'Anyway,' said Chrissie, 'what if our investigation leads to the hotel blowing up, or something? What are we going to do for the rest of the weekend? Drink your drink, come on.'

* * *

Some hours later, they stumbled back to their room.

  
'This thing doesn't work,' said Chrissie, stabbing her room key wildly at the door.

  
'I've got it,' said Sarah, getting the sonic lipstick out of her pocket, twisting it open with some difficulty and aiming it at the lock. The door swung open.

  
'That's cheating,' said Chrissie, wandering in and flopping down on her bed. 'You will lock it again, won't you?'

  
'I'm doing it!' said Sarah.

  
'Let's put something up against the door, too,' Chrissie added. 'Just in case.'

  
'You're not still scared, are you?' Sarah asked.

  
'It could be a great big thing with tentacles and teeth eight feet long, for all we know!' said Chrissie. 'I'm not taking any chances. Come on, help me.'

  
She got up and started to push the bedside table towards the door. Sarah sighed theatrically and went to help her.

* * *

The next day dawned warm and sunny. Sarah and Chrissie didn't see it dawn, though. It was almost noon by the time they were up and about, squinting in the sunlight of the glass reception area as they passed through it on their way to the restaurant for something to eat.

  
Audrey and Lou were heading out of the door, with their bags.

  
'Hey! Audrey! Lou!' Chrissie called. 'It was nice meeting you! Have a good trip home!'

  
The two women turned and looked blankly at Chrissie, then turned back and continued on their way.

  
'Well! How rude!' Chrissie huffed.

  
'Or perhaps whatever happened to Gita's friend happened to them?' Sarah suggested.

  
'I knew that!' said Chrissie. 'Let's go after them!'

  
They hurried after the pair, and Chrissie put a hand on Audrey's shoulder to stop her. Audrey turned around.

  
'Audrey, it's Chrissie, remember?' she said.

  
Audrey frowned. 'No...' she said. 'Sorry. I'm going home now.'

  
She shook Chrissie off, and followed Lou to a waiting taxi.

  
'Come back!' Chrissie called.

  
'It's no good,' said Sarah. 'They don't remember us now. They probably don't remember anything about the last few days.'

  
'But why?' Chrissie asked. 'Why would somebody take away their memories like that?'

  
'I don't know,' said Sarah. 'But we'll find out.'

* * *

By asking the girl at the reception desk nicely, they were able to discover that the only entrance to the basement was at the back of the restaurant, and that, as far as anyone knew, the manager was down there at the moment.

'He comes up and gets food, and goes for a short walk around the house and the grounds, most days,' the girl said. 'But it's hard to say when. Anytime from lunchtime onwards, really. Why do you want to know?'

'Oh, no reason,' said Chrissie, vaguely.

'So,' whispered Sarah, as they moved away from the desk, 'the best place to look out for comings and goings is the restaurant itself. But we can't stay there _all_ day.'

Chrissie pouted.

'There's also a good view of the entrance from that green patch outside,' Sarah said. 'What's that?'

'Crazy golf,' Chrissie said, brightening up.

Sarah frowned. 'Anything else?'

'Nope!' said Chrissie, cheerily. 'Just crazy golf, all down that side of the house.'

'I see,' said Sarah.

'So it looks like a long lunch, followed by an afternoon of gentle exercise!' Chrissie said. 'Sarah Jane, are we on a real holiday? It's starting to feel like it...'

* * *

They ordered lunch, sitting at a table ideally situated to watch the basement entrance at the back of the room. The food arrived quickly.

'Well, even if we don't get to the bottom of it, I'll have to thank Gita for mentioning this place,' Sarah said. 'This salad is delicious.'

Chrissie tutted and rolled her eyes at the mention of Gita's name.

'Chrissie, do you have some sort of problem with Gita?' Sarah asked.

'What, me? No! No problem at all!' Chrissie said brightly.

'Well, it seems to me...' Sarah began.

'Oh, let's talk about something else!' Chrissie snapped.

There was silence for a moment.

'I heard from Maria the other day,' Sarah said, picking a subject sure to appease Chrissie. 'She got straight As on her first report at her new school, I hear?'

'Yes!' Chrissie said. 'I'm so proud! She always was a clever girl - Alan thinks she gets it all from his side, but I don't know... I mean, I wasn't good at the sciencey bits but I was always quite creative...'

Bad mood forgotten, they talked about Maria and Alan for three courses, followed by several cups of coffee. Eventually, though, the staff started to hover and make noises about clearing up ready for the evening.

'Crazy golf time, then!' Chrissie said. 'Come on! Let's go!'

She pulled Sarah up and dragged her outside, arranged clubs and balls with impressive speed, and not five minutes after they had left the restaurant, they were on their first hole, ideally placed to watch the basement entrance through the window.

'You go first,' Chrissie said. 'And then I'll laugh and show you how it's really done.'

'Watch it!' said Sarah. 'You'll eat those words...'

She took her first go. It was more difficult than it looked to get the ball to go around the little spiral and into the wiggly pipe. Chrissie's smugness didn't last long, though, since she couldn't do it either. Soon, they were so engrossed that they almost didn't notice the door to the basement opening, and the manager - a tall, thin, serious-looking man in a dark suit - exiting and going towards the kitchens.

Chrissie only happened to spot it because she was straightening up to see where her ball had landed, and she nudged Sarah urgently.

'Look! We'd better be quick!' she said.

Still holding their golf clubs, they hurried back into the house, and hovered outside the restaurant until all the staff had their backs turned. The basement door was locked, but the sonic lipstick worked immediately, and in moments they were inside and locking the door behind them.

They were at the top of a steep staircase, that led into a pool of blackness. It was cold, and the only light came from the cracks around the door.

'I'll get out my torch...' Sarah whispered, fumbling in her pocket.

Chrissie reached and touched the wall and found the light switch. Suddenly the staircase was flooded with light, and they could see that it only went down a few steps, and led into what looked like a perfectly normal laundry room. A few washing machines lined the walls, all switched off now that the staff weren't allowed down here. There was nothing else, but other doors led off somewhere else.

'Do we just pick one?' Chrissie asked, as they tiptoed down the stairs.

'No other way...' Sarah said.

Chrissie held tightly to her golf club, and Sarah unlocked the first door. Half of the room was taken up with...

'A space ship!' Chrissie gasped. 'An actual space ship! It's a bit small, isn't it? And how did he get it in here? And what's...'

And that was as far as she got before someone entered the room behind them and shot them, and they both fell unconscious to the floor.

* * *

'Well, this brings back memories,' said Sarah.

They had awoken in a dark, damp basement room. They were sitting side by side, chained to the wall by their wrists.

'Me too,' said Chrissie. She frowned. 'Probably not for the same reasons.'

Sarah opened her mouth to say something, but just then the door was flung open and the mysterious manager entered.

'You thought you could fool me?' he asked. 'Oh, it was clever, bringing a friend, going out and having fun, the silly aliases to throw me off the scent. Very clever. But I saw through it. We've heard about you, Sarah Jane Smith. And you're not going to stop us! I've got your little gadget, and you're not much without that, are you?'

He took Sarah's sonic lipstick from his pocket and twirled it, mockingly, before putting it back.

'Who are you?' Sarah demanded.

'And why are you stealing people's memories?' added Chrissie.

'My name is Oceryl Tenvo,' he said. 'And I work for the most successful virtual holiday company on the planet Veklar.' He smiled, smugly.

'Bully for you, but what's that got to do with all of this?' said Chrissie.

He laughed. 'This place is part of our business plan. All my idea, actually. And it's been bringing us in rather a lot of revenue lately.'

'I think I'm starting to understand...' Sarah said.

'Well, I'm not!' said Chrissie. 'So you can just explain it, Mr Oceryl Tenvo from the planet Veklar!'

He sighed. 'My company provides virtual holidays,' he said. 'The ideal alternative for those too busy to go on a real holiday - we implant the memories of an exclusive leisure experience into the client, and so they get the relaxation and fun of a real-life holiday, without having to take time away from their busy schedules.'

'But why do you need to steal the memories?' Chrissie asked. 'Can't you make them all up with a computer, or something?'

'Pah!' said Tenvo. 'That sort of thing might be all right for lesser virtual holiday companies, but our clients expect the best. And that's why every single holiday has to be a unique experience, made from 100% real memories. And the only way we can get those, is by extracting them from holidaymakers.'

'That's horrible!' Chrissie said.

'Isn't it?' he smirked. 'So horrible that my company's shares are through the roof. Earth holidays are particularly popular, actually. People think it's quaint. And it was all my idea to come here, I'm in charge of this whole operation. If I can increase uptake of Earth holidays by just another few percent, my superiors will move me to the eighteenth level!'

'Wait... you're doing this for a _promotion_?' Sarah said.

'It's not _just_ a promotion!' he said. 'I wouldn't expect you to understand.'

'I certainly don't!' Sarah agreed.

'Nevertheless,' Tenvo continued smoothly, 'you're an intelligent woman, Miss Smith. I could use someone like you, someone with a more intimate knowledge of Earth-bound leisure pursuits. My superiors would like me to wipe both of your memories, but perhaps we could come to some sort of arrangement...?'

'You can't be serious!' Chrissie blurted. 'You do know this is Sarah Jane Smith, right? She's not going to agree to that!' She paused. 'Are you, Sarah Jane?'

'Of course not!' Sarah said.

Tenvo nodded, unsurprised. 'Then I shall return shortly,' he said, leaving without another glance at them.

'Great,' said Sarah. 'That gives us a chance to come up with a plan. Let me think...'

She frowned, concentrating. Chrissie watched her, and shifted position, tugging at her chains.

'Sarah Jane?' she asked after a few minutes.

'Mm?'

'You don't like Gita better than me, do you?'

'Oh, Chrissie, what a question, and at a time like this!'

'But do you, though?'

'This isn't primary school - I don't have to pick one best friend! I like spending time with you, and I like spending time with Gita. Honestly, Chrissie - not so long ago you didn't want to be friends with me at all!'

'But that was before I knew!'

'About aliens?'

'No, not that - I mean, before I knew what a good friend you were to Maria. I didn't understand before, but all that Sontaran business... well, I realised that you really have her best interests at heart.'

'Well, thank you.'

'Spending all this time with you has made me realise why Maria likes you so much - but now she's gone, it's like you've just replaced her with this Rani kid!'

Sarah gasped. 'Oh, Chrissie...'

'I'm sorry!' Chrissie blurted. 'Forget I said anything.' She looked away. After a moment, Sarah heard sniffling.

'Oh, don't cry...' she said.

'I'm not crying!' Chrissie insisted.

Sarah reached as far as her chains would allow to pat Chrissie on the shoulder. 'It's not like that,' she said. 'Rani is a sweet, bright girl and I like her a lot, but she's just a new friend. She's not Maria and she'll never take Maria's place, because Maria's still in it. Just because she's moved to America, it doesn't mean she's not still part of our lives.'

'I just miss them so much,' Chrissie said, quietly.

'I know,' said Sarah. 'I know. It's all right.'

A hug was impossible, under the circumstances, but it was just about manageable for Sarah to give Chrissie's hand a quick squeeze.

The door opened again, that moment, and Tenvo entered, carrying a large box.

'Afraid?' he asked, seeing Chrissie's tearstained face. 'Don't be. You'll be fine, I'm only going to take a few memories. I'm not a complete monster.'

'But they're _our_ memories!' Sarah said.

'I don't know, I shouldn't think your friend wants to keep them very much, after all this,' he grinned. 'Shall I get rid of hers first, while you watch, Miss Smith?'

'Don't you dare!' cried Sarah, struggling against her restraints.

'I could get an excellent price for this one, I'm sure,' he continued, taking a sort of shiny helmet out of the box and bringing it towards them. 'I could market it as a "mystery investigation weekend" - people love that sort of thing. Perhaps I should see about making some more of them? If I gave you a couple of clues, you'd probably come back...' He approached Chrissie with the helmet, leaning over her.

She glared. 'I've had a lovely weekend, and you are _not_ going to spoil it!' she growled, and she aimed a fierce kick at his face. It hit home with a satisfying crunch, and he flew backwards, a scratch across his cheek from her stiletto heel, blood beginning to drip from his nose.

'Ha, I used to date a judo instructor, in your _face_!' she crowed.

Tenvo dropped to the floor, and the sonic lipstick fell from his pocket and rolled away from him. Chrissie was just close enough to flick it up towards Sarah Jane, who caught it, switched it on, and made short work of their chains.

Chrissie hurried to deliver another couple of kicks, to Tenvo's stomach, just as he was beginning to get up, and he fell over again, curled up in a ball.

'I could have just stunned him with the sonic lipstick,' Sarah said, sternly.

'Well... whatever,' Chrissie shrugged. 'What now, shall we tie him up? Or we could use that helmet thing on him! Ooh, can we?'

'Chrissie, you know that would be wrong,' Sarah said.

Chrissie sighed. 'I know, I know, but it would have been fun.'

'Let's just tie him up for starters, shall we?' Sarah said.

* * *

'Well, that's the second time your heels have saved the day,' Sarah observed, after they had tied up Tenvo, and Sarah had used the communication equipment in his ship to arrange for his arrest by the proper authorities. 'I suppose now it's time for us to go home...'

'What?' Chrissie was incredulous. 'But we're booked in for another night!'

'But we've solved the mystery...' Sarah said, confused.

'Oh - mystery, schmystery!' Chrissie retorted. 'Now we're really on holiday! There's still a few spa treatments I want to try, and we didn't get even halfway through that list of cocktails...'

And even though Sarah rolled her eyes and sighed, when she thought about it, a holiday was really quite a nice idea.


End file.
